Former South African President Jacob Zuma has celebrated the remarkable debut of his uMkhonto we Sizwe (MK) Party in the recent general elections, saying he established the party for serious reasons.
The MK secured 14.58% of the vote and contributing to the African National Congress (ANC)’s worst performance since the end of apartheid.
The party’s strong showing has not only dented the African National Congress (ANC)’s dominance but also placed Zuma at the center of post-election coalition negotiations.
In a rousing speech from his Nkandla homestead, Zuma declared that politics is “in my blood, in my vein, in my marrow,” and his party, along with other opposition groups, is now demanding President Cyril Ramaphosa’s removal as a precondition for any coalition talks with the ANC.
“I established a political party, MK, to contest with other parties for serious reasons,” Zuma told a crowd of supporters. “I am a politician, I think politics, I plan politics, strategy, tactics & everything. I would not have tried it if I knew it was not going to work, I knew it will.”
The MK Party’s strong showing has shaken South Africa’s political landscape. The ANC, which has governed since 1994, received only 40.18% of the vote, falling short of a parliamentary majority for the first time.
This historic shift has thrust Zuma, who was ousted from the ANC presidency and later resigned as national president amidst corruption allegations, back into the role of political kingmaker.
Opposition parties, especially the MK party, have ruled out a coalition deal with the African National Congress (ANC) unless it first removes Cyril Ramaphosa from the presidency.
Zuma linked his political awakening to the 1906 Bambatha Rebellion against British colonial rule in his home region.
“The Bambatha Rebellion ended in Nkandla, which changed the thinking of how we fight for our struggle,” he said. “That’s why I became an Umkhonto Wesizwe soldier,” referencing the ANC’s former armed wing, after which his new party is named.
With coalition negotiations on the horizon, the MK Party’s demand for Ramaphosa’s ouster underscores the deep fissures within the broader liberation movement.
As Zuma put it, “I took the decision to lose my life for the freedom of our black people.” Now, his resurgence could reshape South Africa’s political future.
The impasse between the ANC and the MK party has plunged South Africa into political uncertainty, with no party holding a clear majority in the 400-member National Assembly.
The ANC, which has governed since the end of white minority rule in 1994, now faces the task of convincing other parties to join a coalition government.
